Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promises retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s 25% tariff proposal

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has issued a strong response to US President-elect Donald Trump‘s proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican goods. In a letter read during her morning conference, “The People’s Mornings,” Sheinbaum emphasized that threats and tariffs will not address the issues of migration and drug consumption in the United States.

“Cooperation and mutual understanding are required to tackle these great challenges. For every tariff, there will be another in response, risking common businesses. Yes, common. For example, the main exporters from Mexico to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico 80 years ago. Why impose a tax that puts them at risk? It is unacceptable and would cause inflation and job losses in both the United States and Mexico,” Sheinbaum stated.

The Mexican president’s letter, which will be sent to Trump on Tuesday, November 26, comes in response to his announcement on Truth Social that one of his first executive orders will be to impose a 25 percent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10 percent on tariffs established for imports from China.

In her letter, Sheinbaum affirmed that North America’s economic strength lies in maintaining its commercial partnership, which allows for continued competitiveness against other economic blocs. “I believe that dialogue is the best path to understanding, peace, and prosperity in our nations. I hope our teams can meet soon,” she added.

Sheinbaum highlighted Mexico’s comprehensive policy to assist migrants from different parts of the world who cross Mexican territory to reach the US southern border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures, encounters at the Mexico-US border have decreased by 75 percent from December 2023 to November 2024. “By the way, half of those who arrive do so through a legally granted appointment by the U.S. program called CBP One. For these reasons, migrant caravans no longer reach the border,” she clarified.

The president emphasized the need for a new model of labor mobility and addressing the root causes that force families to leave their homes. She argued that if a percentage of US war spending were dedicated to building peace and development, the root causes of migration would be addressed.

Sheinbaum also addressed the fentanyl epidemic in the United States, describing it as a consumption and public health problem. “So far this year, the Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have seized tons of different types of drugs, 10,340 weapons, and detained 15,640 people for violence related to drug trafficking. A constitutional reform is in the process of being approved in my country’s legislative branch to declare the production, distribution, and commercialization of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs a serious crime without bail,” she revealed.

She pointed out that chemical precursors for fentanyl and other synthetic drugs enter Canada, the United States and Mexico illegally from Asian countries, making international collaboration urgent. Additionally, Sheinbaum informed Trump that 70 percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from the United States. “We do not produce the weapons, we do not consume the synthetic drugs. The deaths caused by crime to meet the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately, are ours,” she emphasized.

During the question-and-answer session, the Mexican president expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with Trump over tariffs, citing the complementary nature of the two economies and Mexico’s status as a free and sovereign nation. “Let it be known (that an agreement will be reached) to all Mexicans, businessmen, businesswomen, U.S. companies in Mexico, common entrepreneurs, Mexican entrepreneurs with investments in the United States. All this generates employment in the United States and economic strength for both nations, and also for Canada. So, let it be known that we will reach an agreement,” she asserted.

Sheinbaum reiterated her call for calm in the markets, stating that they are working together on the Mexico Plan and will establish a dialogue with the United States. “There is government, there is the people, we Mexicans are united in this. There will be other issues where we have differences, and that’s good because we are a democracy, but there are issues where there is unity, and we will reach an agreement on those and go to dialogue with President Trump and his team,” she said.

She also mentioned that she will send a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, explaining that Mexico has worked to strengthen the commercial relationship between the three nations. In the automotive sector alone, foreign direct investment from the United States and Canada in Mexico from 2006 to 2024 reached $33.357 billion, while China’s investment was only $590 million.

“And we have a plan called the ‘Mexico Plan.’ We will also present this plan to President Trump and Canada because, in truth, Mexico was very generous with Canada, as they were about to be expelled from the Treaty during the 2018 negotiations, and it was President López Obrador who advocated for Canada to remain in the Treaty. So, as I said, we complement each other,” she concluded.

Featured image attribution: Eneas De Troya (Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eneas/54070528525/), License: CC BY 2.0